1. Field
The present invention generally relates to a device, system, and method of communicating via one of a plurality of relay devices that is allocated to a communication device, and a recording medium storing a control program that causes a processor to communicate via one of the plurality of relay devices that is allocated to the communication device.
2. Background
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-323360A describes a remote management system in which a plurality of image forming devices at a user site communicates with a management device at a services provider site through the Internet. In order to allow the image forming device to communicate with the management device, a relay device is provided at the user site such that the relay device relays communications between the image forming device and the management device.
However, it has been cumbersome for the services provider to manage the relay device, which should be set at the user site. For example, in order to set the relay device at the user site, the services provider needs to send the relay device to the user site or send a service technician to the user site to set up the relay device. Further, a number of relay devices or a function of the relay device may need to be changed as a configuration of a communication system at the user site changes, for example, when a new image forming device is introduced. In case of upgrading firmware of the relay device, the services provider is not able to transfer the latest version of firmware to the relay device unless there is an access by the relay device.
In view of the above, it is more convenient to set the relay device at a site that can be easily managed by the services provider, such as the services provider site. For example, the relay function or the relay device providing the relay function may be provided in the cloud. In such case, the management device sends a request addressed to a communication device such as the image forming device, to the relay device in the cloud to cause the relay device to pool the request at least temporarily. The communication device to be managed by the management device is caused to periodically access the relay device in the cloud to obtain the request transmitted from the management device that is pooled at the relay device.